Synthesis of core–shell nanoparticles with a Pt nanoparticle core and a silica shell

A method to prepare a core–shell structure consisting of a Pt metal core coated with a silica shell (Pt(in)SiO₂) is described herein. A silica shell was grown on poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-stabilized Pt nanoparticles 2–3 nm in size through hydrolysis and condensation reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in a water/ethanol mixture with ammonia as a catalyst. This process requires precise control of the reaction conditions to avoid the formation of silica particles containing multiple Pt cores and core-free silica. The length of PVP molecules, water content, concentration of ammonia and Pt nanoparticles in solution were found to significantly influence the core–shell structure. By optimizing these parameters, it was possible to prepare core–shell particles each containing a single Pt nanoparticle with a silica layer coating approximately 10 nm thick.     

On the Discrete Hardy Inequality

Necessary and sufficient conditions for the boundedness of thediscrete Hardy operator of the form , from to when 0 < q < 1 <p , is given.     

Structural and electrical properties of core–shell structured GaP nanowires with outer Ga2O3 oxide layers

This paper presents a review of our current experimental research on GaP nanowires grown by a vapor deposition method. Their structural, electrical, opto-electric transport, and gas-adsorption properties are reviewed. Our structural studies showed that a GaP nanowire consisted of a core–shell structure with a single-crystalline GaP core and an outer Ga₂O₃ layer. The individual GaP nanowires exhibited n-type field effects. Their electron mobilities were in the range of about 6 to 22 cm²/V s at room temperature. When the nanowires were illuminated with an ultraviolet light source, an abrupt increase of conductance occurred resulting from carrier generation in the nanowire and de-adsorption of adsorbed OH^- or O₂ ^- ions on the Ga₂O₃ surface shell. Using an intrinsic Ga₂O₃ shell layer as a gate dielectric, top-gated GaP nanowire field-effect transistors were fabricated and characterized. Like other metal oxide nanowires, the carrier concentration and mobility of GaP nanowires were significantly affected by the surface molecular adsorption of OH or O₂. The GaP nanowire devices were fabricated as sensors for NO₂, NH₃, and H₂ gases by using a simple metal decoration technique. PACS 73.63.-b; 72.80.Ey; 85.35.-p     

Measurement of in vivo multi-component T2 relaxation times for brain tissue using multi-slice T2 prep at 1.5 and 3 T

The objective of this study was to implement a clinically relevant multi-slice multi-echo imaging sequence in order to quantify multi-component T2 relaxation times for normal volunteers at both 1.5 and 3 T. Multi-echo data were fitted using a nonnegative least square algorithm. Twelve echo data with nonlinear echo sampling were acquired using a receive-only eight-channel phased array coil and volume head coil for phantoms and normal volunteers, and compared to 32-echo data with linear echo sampling. It was observed that the performance of the 180 degrees refocusing trains was more spatially uniform for the receive-only eight-channel phased array coil than for the head coil, particularly at 3 T. The phantom study showed that the estimated T2 relaxation times were accurate and reproducible for both single- and multi-slice acquisition from a commercial phantom with known T2 relaxation times. Short T2 components (T2 <50 ms) were mainly observed within the white matter for normal volunteers, and the fraction of short T2 water components (i.e., myelin water) was 7-12% of total water. It was observed that the calculated myelin water fraction map from the nonlinearly sampled 12-echo data was comparable with that from the linearly sampled 32-echo data. Quantification of T2 relaxation times from multi-slice images was accomplished with a clinically acceptable scan times (16 min) for normal volunteers by using a nonselective T2 prep imaging sequence. The use of the eight-channel head coil involved more accurate quantification of T2 relaxation times particularly when the number of echoes was limited.     

Fourier-domain low-coherence interferometry for differential mode delay analysis of an optical fiber

We propose a novel mode analysis and differential mode delay measurement method for an optical fiber using Fourier-domain low-coherence interferometry. A spectral interferometer based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer setup was used with a broadband source and an optical spectrum analyzer to detect relative temporal delays between the guided modes of a few-mode optical fiber by analyzing spectral interference signals. We have shown that experimental results of the proposed method agree well with those results obtained by using a conventional time-domain measurement method. We have demonstrated that this new mode analysis technique has high sensitivity (<60 dB) and very good resolution (<1 ps/m).     

Uniform Drug Loading into Prefabricated Microparticles by Freeze‐Drying

Microparticle‐based drug delivery is a promising technology for small volume bioassay platforms. The general utilization of the drug‐loaded microparticles in the in vitro bioassay platforms requires the drug loading method, which should impregnate the general drug types (e.g., water insoluble) with high payload into the variously designed microparticles. Loading the drug into the prefabricated microparticles using solvent evaporation satisfies the requirement. However, similar to the “coffee‐ring effect,” drugs are loaded in a seriously nonuniform manner, caused by the capillary flow during the evaporation process. Here, it is presented that the freeze‐drying is an efficient way to load uniform and high amount of the drug into the prefabricated microparticles. It is demonstrated that freezing solvent can block the capillary flow during the solvent removal process, improving the loading uniformity. The delivered amount of drugs is linearly proportional to the initial loading amount of drugs. Also, this drug loading method is shown to be applied to the various drug types and the prefabricated microparticles with different properties. Considering many challenges to suppress the “coffee‐ring effect” that induces nonuniform impregnation/deposition, the proposed concept can be applied not only for microparticle‐based drug delivery but also for uniform coating applications (e.g., thin‐film coating, DNA/protein microarray).     

Some New Features in the Pseudoscalar Meson and Vector Meson Photoproductions

We investigate the role of the t-channel meson exchange in various photoproduction processes to discuss features of the respective production mechanism. For the less model-dependent analysis we work with the t-channel meson pole reggeized in the Born approximation amplitude. With the meson–baryon coupling constants chosen consistently with symmetry prediction we show that the Reggeized pole model could reproduce the experimental data to a good degree in the lower energy region. Numerical consequences show the significance of the tensor meson exchange in the γ p → K ⁺Λ, the dominance of the pseudoscalar meson exchange in the πΔ (and KΣ*) processes, and the sizable role of the vector-meson magnetic moment in the charged ρ (and K*) photoproductions, respectively. These new features from the present analyses could provide a useful guide for future study of the N* resonances in the low energy region.     

A light-emitting diode fabricated from horse-heart cytochrome c

We have fabricated a light-emitting diode from horse-heart cytochrome c and measured the electro-luminescence (EL) spectra. The spectra exhibit broad peaks around 530 and 690 nm, and a weak shoulder around 410 nm. The EL spectra are completely different from the photo-luminescence spectra previously reported. The appearance of the 690 nm emission band suggests the charge-transfer between the iron and the axial methionine ligand plays a crucial role in the electrical conduction in the cytochrome c film.